NIPPON


 

Japan's Foreign Ministry established a division for security cooperation Tuesday to implement a new aid scheme, named official security assistance, or OSA, to extend grant aid to the militaries of partner countries.

"We'll work to strategically promote and strengthen the OSA mainly through the new division," Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi told a press conference.

Placed under the ministry's Foreign Policy Bureau, the security cooperation division has some 10 employees to select recipient countries and check aid effects.

"We'll appropriately conduct follow-ups after providing the aid," Hayashi said.

Japan's aid to developing countries under its existing official development assistance program is limited to nonmilitary areas such as infrastructure development.